Epilepsy Medications May Accelerate Atherosclerosis

Long-Term Treatment With Epilepsy Medications May Accelerate Atherosclerosis.

MedPage Today (11/18, Pal) reports, "The duration of anti-epileptic monotherapy was associated with accelerated atherosclerosis, although individual drugs had different underlying mechanisms in epilepsy patients, according to a single-center study" published online Nov. 15 in Epilepsia. The researchers looked at epileptic patients taking four different older generation anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs). They were carbamazepine (CBZ) and phenytoin (PHT), valproic acid (VPA), and lamotrigine (LTG, Lamictal). The researchers found that "common carotid artery intima media thickness (IMT) in patients with epilepsy seemed to be positively correlated with the duration of AED therapy." However, no significant correlation was found with common carotid IMT and anti-epileptic treatment with LTG. The investigators said, "The results offer some guidelines to clinicians on choosing the best AED drug for a patient based on their vascular risk factors and age." 

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